Top Menu

Aussies eye HFC as 'interim measure' while preparing fiber

Here's something for cable experts who say that HFC is here to stay. Australia's National Broadband Network Co. (NBNCo) has received tentative government approval to take over Optus' or Telstra's existing HFC networks "as a stopgap measure" to deliver high-speed broadband during its eight-year fiber-to-the-premise buildout to 90 percent of Australian homes.

More than 2.6 million premises are already connected to the Optus and Telstra networks and have been upgraded to the latest DOCSIS 3.0 technology capable of delivering 100 Mbps of download speeds. A government report, however, (and cable folks should love this) says "100 Mbps download speed over HFC is not in the same league as 100 Mbps over fibre" according to a news report.